Too cold for comfort

By Courtney Towson and Brittany Crompton SPECIAL TO THE TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

Saturday

Jan 27, 2007 at 12:42 AM

With the temperature in the single digits and the wind chill below zero, many people stayed indoors yesterday. But some jobs had to be done, bitter cold or not.

“I’ve got my guys calling me from the work site, telling me that I better have their paychecks ready because they’re out there freezing and ready to come back,” said Jeffrey Benoit, owner of Northeast Building and Construction in Hubbardston, yesterday afternoon.

“It’s almost not worth it to have them out there,” he said. “The boys move slower and can barely hold on to anything. They have to buy hand and boot warmers made for skiers to keep their fingers and feet warm.”

The workers themselves are not the only thing affected by the cold on work sites. Products that have any rigidity — plastic siding and roofing shingles, for example — can break or shatter when they are bent or jolted at such low temperatures.

Another problem is freezing air compressors and the tools they run, such as nail guns.

“We have to keep the compressors in the truck and leave the truck running so they stay warm,” Mr. Benoit said, “which costs extra money for the gas.”

Autobrite Car Wash on Southbridge Street in Worcester made the decision late Thursday afternoon to close down yesterday to avoid equipment failure. Employee Paul Ayers explained that the chemical applications for the car wash have trouble operating in the cold and freeze on vehicles.

“We may have lost some money today, but we would rather have satisfied customers. We like to put out a good product,” he said.

The business is expected to reopen midday today.

Even though it’s cold, clerks at local supermarkets still must brave the conditions to retrieve carriages for customers. At Goretti’s Supermarket in Millbury, employees take turns going outside to gather and push the carts indoors. Store manager Gary Francis said he told the clerks to come in as soon as they felt too cold. The store also purchased three thermal-lined winter jackets for employees to wear, along with heavy gloves.

Robert L. Moylan, commissioner of the Worcester Department of Public Works and Parks, said the department was able to hold some jobs off until Monday.

“To the extent that we could, we tried to keep as many people from venturing into the elements,” he said. The DPW was able to control a water leak in the Park Avenue area, and repairs were rescheduled to Monday.

“We wait for Monday for some jobs. We are successful in some cases, but not in others,” Mr. Moylan said.

He added that sanitation workers deserve exceptional thanks. The workers, who pick up 20,000 pounds of trash and walk an average of five miles a day, were given special head and face gear to “give them as much protection to the ears and face as we could.”

To stay warm on long outdoor shifts, police officers are provided with lined fleece sweaters and heavy-duty Blauer Gore-Tex coats, according to Sgt. Kerry Hazelhurst of the Worcester Police Department, but some officers choose to get a little creative to stay warm.

“When I had to be out there, I would buy mountain climber gear, skier gloves and face masks,” Sgt. Hazelhurst said. “Sometimes it’s not fun out there, but we have to do it.”

“The nature of our business is the same,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if we are in the middle of a blizzard or 100 degrees.”

No mail carrier routes were changed, he said, but a crew of 12 was increased to 14 yesterday to hasten deliveries.

Although many businesses and city departments are held back by the temperature, it has allowed Wachusett Mountain Ski Area to be the most productive it has been in years, marketing director Thomas E. Meyers said.

“Conditions are the best they’ve been all season” because the temperature is ideal for snow-making,” he said.

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